


The Other Me

by Not_An_Alien



Series: Voltron Shorts [8]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Keith (Voltron), Alternate Reality, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Fluff, Galra Lance (Voltron), Galra Shiro (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Lance wants Keith's attention, M/M, OR IS HE, Reunions, So Shiro isn't there, takes place in season 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-25 01:31:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17715509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_An_Alien/pseuds/Not_An_Alien
Summary: A younger Lance from another reality appears on the ship, and the paladins have to find a way to return him to his reality. Surprisingly, the other Lance doesn't get along with the original Lance, but he gets along very well with Keith.





	The Other Me

"Good morning, everybody!" Lance said, letting out a yawn as he stepped into the lounge. Nobody acknowledged him. Instead, everyone was crowded around something in the center of the room, whispering questions amongst themselves. Confused, Lance approached the group for a closer look. "What are you guys looking at?" Lance broke through the circle and froze in shock at what he saw. 

Standing in the center of the room was a small Galran child, with dark blue irises that contrasted with the yellow of his eyes, and dark purple hair cut the same was Lance had had his hair cut when he was thirteen. The second the child turned around, Lance immediately noticed that this child looked exactly like him-- only Galra, of course.

"Who are you?" Lance asked out of instinct.

"The name's Lance," the kid said with a scowl. "Who are you?"

"I'm Lance," Lance stated firmly.

"You can't be Lance," Galra-Lance said. "I'm Lance."

"Well, then, I guess we're both Lance," Lance concluded.

"We can't both be Lance," Galra-Lance protested. "I'm the only Lance I know."

"Well, now you know two Lances," Lance finished. He looked over to where Pidge was watching the dispute. "Where'd he come from?"

"Well," Pidge adjusted her glasses, "we don't know. He just kind of appeared here. One moment everything was normal, and then this Galra kid just appears out of nowhere."

"The Galra probably sent him here to spy on us," Allura accused from the other side of the circle. "They probably don't think we'd suspect a child. We should lock him up."

"Don't you think that's a little harsh, Allura?" Keith questioned. "I mean, he's just a kid. We shouldn't just assume the worst."

"You guys could just ask me," Galra-Lance deadpanned. "I know I'm short, but I'm not invisible."

"I feel ya, buddy," Pidge said.

"Alright, Lance, if that even is your name, where did you come from?" Allura asked.

Galra-Lance stared at her for a few seconds before saying, "You look like the princess. What did you say your name was again?"

"I asked you a question first," Allura sighed, "but if you must know, I am Princess Allura of Altea. Can you answer my question now?"

"So you ARE the princess!" Galra-Lance exclaimed. "I thought you looked familiar!" Without warning, Galra-Lance took a knee and bowed to Allura. "Sir Lance of Altea, your highness. You may be older now, but I will still serve you all the same."

"Um, you may rise," Allura said awkwardly, and Galra-Lance stood. "What do you mean you're from Altea? Altea was destroyed over ten thousand years ago!"

Galra-Lance looked confused. "Well, I was born there. I'm currently in training to be a knight, I just like to call myself "sir." I don't remember Altea being destroyed, though. You'd think I would remember if it happened."

Suddenly, something clicked and Pidge spoke up. "He must be from another reality!"

"That would explain a lot," Allura commented before turning back to Galra-Lance. "How did a Galra come to serve Altean royalty? Does Altea still have peace with the Galran race in your reality?"

"No, your highness," Galra-Lance answered. "My mother is Altean, however my father was Galran. In case you can't tell, I look more like him. Also, I don't actually work with the royal family. I have never met the princess in my reality, but I am currently in charge of guarding one of the noble's only son right now."

"What's his name? The son, I mean," Allura asked.

"Lord Keith of Altea," Galra-Lance proudly stated. The circle went quiet, although a snicker could be heard from Pidge.

"Could you describe him for us?" Allura asked.

"Well, he was white hair, and red Altean marks. He has eyes that are dark blue, grey, or violet. I haven't figured it out yet," Lance described. "Oh, yeah, he also has a mullet."

"I guess the mullet remains in all realities, huh, Keith?" Lance teased, and Keith rolled his eyes.

"So let me get this straight," Hunk interrupted. "All of a sudden, a younger Lance from another reality appears out of literally nowhere, saying he's from Altea and guards Keith, who, despite being part-Galra here, is of Altean nobility in said reality. What are we planning on doing with him?"

"Well, we have Voltron, and we know that it can travel between realities," Pidge said. "If we could just get the technology to open a portal into this Lance's reality, we should theoretically be able to return him there."

"How long would it take for us to get the technology?" Keith asked.

"Well, that depends if we can find a-"

"How long, Pidge?" Lance interrupted.

"Anywhere from two to four months," Pidge grumbled her answer, clearly unhappy with Lance's interruption.

"Looks like you're going to be here for a while Little Lance," Lance said.

"So I'm going to have to spend the next two to four months staring at your ugly ears?" Galra-Lance asked, and Lance dramatically gasped in shock, ignoring people's giggles as Galra-Lance cracked up.

~

Keith was in the training room when he heard someone come in. Taking a second to turn away from the training bot, he spotted Galra-Lance standing in the door of the training room. "End training session," Keith said before turning to where Galra-Lance was standing. "Is something wrong, Lance?" He asked, approaching the boy.

"Um, it's nothing important, really. I just, uh," Galra-Lance stuttered. "What if I never get back to my Keith?"

Keith raised his eyebrows at the question. He was coming to him of all people for this? Why not the other Lance? Or Allura? Or Pidge? Keith guessed that the boy was worried about getting back to his Keith, though. Keith rested his hand on the younger boy's shoulder, not usually one for physical contact, but he knew his Lance was a fan of it, so maybe this one was, too. "I'm sure you'll get back to your Keith. You have nothing to worry about."

"But what if he gets hurt while I'm gone?" Galra-Lance asks. "Not many people l like his father for being merciful to the Galra so he gets targeted all the time? What if someone hurts him?"

"Well, if your Keith is anything like me, he won't go down without a fight," Keith assured the boy. "Everything will be fine. Pidge is going to get the proper technology, and we'll take you back to your Keith, okay?"

Galra-Lance looked up at him. "Promise?"

Keith gently smiled. "I promise."

~

Over the next couple weeks, people in the castle noticed that Galra-Lance was very fond of Keith as he followed the guy around wherever he went. Once, the boy was even found sleeping on the floor outside his bedroom. On the other hand, Galra-Lance definitely wasn't fond of the other Lance. The two constantly got into arguments, most of which involved who the superior Lance was. Most arguments ended with someone having to step in and separate the two.

"That little shit," Lance cursed one day after getting out of another argument with the young boy, who had immediately resumed following Keith to the training deck again.

Hunk looked up from what he was baking. "You know, I always thought you'd get along with another you." He shrugged. "Guess I was wrong."

"Why does Galra-Lance hate me, though?" Lance asked, dramatically leaning over the counter. "I haven't done anything to him, and my "ugly" ears shouldn't count as an excuse." He did finger quotes around the ugly part.

"Well, maybe he just sees you as a threat to Keith or something," Hunk suggested, hardly paying attention to the conversation.

Lance's head popped up. "Of course! He's always with Keith for a reason. The shit must be guarding Keith, but why from me?"

"Because you call him shit all the time," Hunk said.

"Or he's just jealous," Lance suggested.

"I doubt it," Hunk commented, holding up one of the pastries he was baking and observing it from all angles. "Do you think I could put cinnamon on this?"

"This is no time for stupid questions, Hunk!" Lance snapped. "Of course you can put cinnamon on that!"

"Alright, thanks, Lance," Hunk returned to cooking.

"Okay, you have fun with that," Lance said. "I'm going to go talk to Keith."

As he was leaving, Pidge walked in the room and looked at Lance before turning to Hunk. "What just happened?"

Hunk shrugged. "I don't know. Lance was jumping to conclusions again."

"Ah. Are you putting cinnamon on that?"

~

Lance sprinted through the hallways, running into a few walls while turning corners, but that wasn't important, until he reached Keith's room. He raised his hand to knock, but stopped when he heard voices coming from inside.

"What if my Keith doesn't love me anymore?" The question from Galra-Lance intrigued Lance, so he pushed his ear up against the door in order to listen in.

"What do you mean?" Keith asked.

"Well, I mean, I was supposed to protect him, but I failed. He got hurt because of me, and then I just disappeared. He probably thinks I ran away." Lance was surprised by the worry in Galra-Lance's voice. The only emotion Lance had ever heard from him was anger and annoyance.

"Look, Lance," Keith said, and Lance heard him sit on the bed, "If your Keith's love for you is anything like the love I feel for my Lance, I know that he wouldn't give up on you that easily."

I'm sorry, what?

Keith... loved him?

"But what if he doesn't think I'm good enough anymore?" Galra-Lance asked.

"That won't happen, Lance," Keith assured him. "I'm sure your Keith knows that you are more than good enough. You two have known each other for years. I don't think he'd give all that up just like that."

"I guess you have a point..." Galra-Lance trailed off, and then it was silent. Lance furrowed his brows in confusion, and then suddenly, the door opened and Lance face-planted on Keith's bedroom floor with an annoyed Keith and Galra-Lance looking down at him.

"Um," Lance stuttered, looking up at the two. "Good afternoon?"

"How long were you listening?" Keith asked.

"Yes?" Lance said, and Keith sighed.

"Hasn't Shiro told you not to eavesdrop on people?" Keith asked, holding his forehead in his hand.

"That doesn't stop Pidge!" Lance protested.

"Darn right, it doesn't," Lance heard from the vents, but all three boys ignored it.

"Please don't eavesdrop next time," Keith said.

"Fine," Lance grumbled, then remembered something and raised an eyebrow at Keith. "So... you love me?"

Instantly, Keith's face turned a dark crimson color. "Well, I, uh, I mean, I don't, shit, I-"

Lance stood up and faced Keith. "You okay there, man? We can talk about it if you want." Keith nodded, and Lance gestured to Galra-Lance to get out. However, as he was leaving the room, he suggestively raised his eyebrows at Keith, whose face turned the color of his jacket again.

When he was finally gone, Lance turned back to Keith. "So do you want to start from the beginning or...?"

Keith shrugged. "I guess. I've kind of... had a crush on you since," he took a deep breath, "since we were back in the Garrison."

"Really?" Lance asked, shocked. Lance thought that Keith didn't remember him from the Garrison.

"Yeah, I, uh, I lied about not remembering you. I just had gay panic," Keith confessed and Lance barked out a laugh. "Don't laugh at me!"

"No, no, I'm not laughing at you," Lance managed, calming himself down. "It's just that I may or may not have pretended to forget the bonding moment for the same reason."

"You WHAT?!" Keith shouted.

"Don't get mad at me!" Lance defended. "I pretended to forget thirty seconds. You pretended to forget five years!"

"Okay, I guess you have a point," Keith said. "So, what now?"

Lance thought for a second, then asked, "Would you, maybe, want to... go on a date with me sometime?"

Keith looked at him. "Where? We're in space."

Lance shrugged. "Maybe an alien planet, or the castle is huge, so there's probably someplace we could go. Unless, you don't want to..."

Keith smiled his beautiful smile. "I would love to, Lance."

Lance grinned. "Great! That's, uh, that's great."

The two smiled at each other for a minute before Keith seemed to realize something. He held up a finger to Lance and walked around him to the door. Without warning, Keith opened the door, and Galra-Lance face-planted on Keith's bedroom floor with an "Oof!"

Keith looked at Lance with a raised eyebrow and Lance shrugged. "It must be a Lance thing," he said.

~

"Paladins, please report to the bridge immediately!" Allura's voice called out over the comms. Lance rushed onto the bridge and his jaw dropped at what he saw. In front of the castle ship, a large portal had opened and another Voltron came out.

"There's another Voltron?" Hunk asked.

"There is no other Voltron!" Allura said, staring at the other Voltron.

"I think I know what's going on," Pidge said. "That Voltron is from another reality!"

"They're here..." Galra-Lance whispered.

A comm popped up, showing a familiar-looking Galra with a young Altean standing behind him. "Paladin Takashi Shirogane here," the Galra said, and Lance's jaw dropped again. "Requesting permission to board."

"Let him in!" Galra-Lance shouted.

"You know him?" Keith asked, and Galra-Lance nodded. Keith turned back to the comm. "Permission granted."

~

They had all run to the black lion's hangar after they saw the other Voltron split, and the black lion head to the castle. Sure enough, a duplicate black lion had landed next to theirs, and the Galra-Shiro was stepping out alongside the young Altean that looked stupidly familiar.

"Keith!" Galra-Lance shouted, running past Lance, and the Altean grinned and started running, too. The two met in the middle in an embrace. Altean-Keith gave Galra-Lance a kiss on the cheek, and Galra-Lance picked up Altean-Keith and spun him around in a circle as the two laughed. It was a very cute scene. Lance only looked away when he felt Keith grab his hand and intertwine their fingers.

Eventually, the two let go of each other, although they didn't drift far apart. Galra-Lance approached the group of paladins and shrugged. "I guess this is goodbye," he said.

"I guess it is," Keith said, and Galra-Lance stepped forward and hugged Keith. "I'll miss you, Lance."

Galra-Lance let go of Keith and stepped back. "I'll miss you, too, Keith."

Lance smirked and stepped behind Keith, hugging him. "Back off, Galra-Lance. This one's mine." There was nothing condescending about it with the smile on his face, and Galra-Lance laughed.

"I'll keep that in mind Human-Lance," he chuckled. "I might miss you, too."

"You better," Lance teased. He and Keith watched as Galra-Lance said his last goodbyes to the rest of the crew. Hunk and Coran got especially tearful. Eventually, it was time for him to go. They all watched as Galra-Lance, Altean-Keith, and Galra-Shiro stepped onto the black lion and flew away. The other Voltron reformed and went back to the portal.

"Are you ready?" Altean-Keith asked.

Galra-Lance smirked. "Let's go."

Back on the castle, Lance and Keith had never been happier. Somehow, they had been brought together in every reality, and there were more than happy with this knowledge.


End file.
